Chemistry in Britain

SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology, Synthetic materials

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Whinfield was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied chemistry. Before embarking on his career as a research chemist, he worked as an un-paid assistant to the chemist C.F. Cross, who had taken part in the discovery of rayon. Whinfield then joined the Calico Printers' Association. There his interest was aroused by the discovery of nylon by W.H. Carothers to seek other polymers which could be produced in fibre form, usable by the textile industries. With his colleague J.T. Dickson, he discovered in 1941 that a polymerized condensate of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, polyethylene terephthgal-late, could be drawn into strong fibres. Whinfield and Dickson filed a patent application in the same year, but due to war conditions it was not published until 1946. The Ministry of Supply considered that the new material might have military applications and undertook further research and development. Its industrial and textile possibilities were evaluated by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1943 and "Terylene", as it came to be called, was soon recognized as being as important as nylon.

In 1946, Dupont acquired rights to work the Calico Printers' Association patent in the USA and began large-scale manufacture in 1954, marketing the product under the name "Dacron". Meanwhile ICI purchased world rights except for the USA and reached the large-scale manufacture stage in 1955. A new branch of the textile industry has grown up from Whinfield's discovery: he lived to see most people in the western world wearing something made of Terylene. It was one of the major inventions of the twentieth century, yet Whinfield, perhaps because he published little, received scant recognition, apart from the CBE in 1954.

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SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology

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The son of a merchant in the city of his birth, John Christopher had delicate health and required private tuition to overcome the loss of his early years of schooling. At the age of 22 he went to study chemistry at Göttingen University and then worked for a short time for Liebig at Giessen. In 1847 he obtained a post as Analyst and Consulting Chemist at the Agricultural Chemistry Association of Scotland's Edinburgh office, and two years later he became Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, retaining this post until 1862. In 1855 he was appointed Chemist to the Bath and West Agricultural Society, and in that capacity organized lectures and field trials, and in 1857 he also became Consulting Chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Initially he studied the properties of farmyard manure and also the capacity of the soil to absorb ammonia, potash and sodium. As Consulting Chemist to farmers he analysed feedstuffs and manures; his assessments of artificial manures did much to force improvements in standards. During the 1860s he worked on milk and dairy products. He published the results of his work each year in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. In 1877 he became involved in the field trials initiated and funded by the Duke of Bedford on his Woburn farm, and he continued his association with this venture until his death.

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See also: Voelcker, John Augustus

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SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy

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After a private education, Percy went to Paris in 1834 to study medicine and to attend lectures on chemistry by Gay-Lussac and Thenard. After 1838 he studied medicine at Edinburgh, obtaining his MD in 1839. In that year he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at Queen's College, Birmingham, moving to Queen's Hospital at Birmingham in 1843. During his time at Birmingham, Percy became well known for his analysis of blast furnace slags, and was involved in the manufacture of optical glass. On 7 June 1851 Percy was appointed Metallurgical Professor and Teacher at the Museum of Practical Geology established in Jermyn Street, London, and opened in May 1851. In November of 1851, when the Museum became the Government (later Royal) School of Mines, Percy was appointed Lecturer in Metallurgy. In addition to his work at Jermyn Street, Percy lectured on metallurgy to the Advanced Class of Artillery at Woolwich from 1864 until his death, and from 1866 he was Superintendent of Ventilation at the Houses of Parliament. He served from 1861 to 1864 on the Special Committee on Iron set up to examine the performance of armour-plate in relation to its purity, composition and structure.

Percy is best known for his metallurgical text books, published by John Murray. Volume I of Metallurgy, published in 1861, dealt with fuels, fireclays, copper, zinc and brass; Volume II, in 1864, dealt with iron and steel; a volume on lead appeared in 1870, followed by one on fuels and refractories in 1875, and the first volume on gold and silver in 1880. Further projected volumes on iron and steel, noble metals, and on copper, did not materialize. In 1879 Percy resigned from his School of Mines appointment in protest at the proposed move from Jermyn Street to South Kensington. The rapid growth of Percy's metallurgical collection, started in 1839, eventually forced him to move to a larger house. After his death, the collection was bought by the South Kensington (later Science) Museum. Now comprising 3,709 items, it provides a comprehensive if unselective record of nineteenth-century metallurgy, the most interesting specimens being those of the first sodium-reduced aluminium made in Britain and some of the first steel produced by Bessemer in Baxter House. Metallurgy for Percy was a technique of chemical extraction, and he has been criticized for basing his system of metallurgical instruction on this assumption. He stood strangely aloof from new processes of steel making such as that of Gilchrist and Thomas, and tended to neglect early developments in physical metallurgy, but he was the first in Britain to teach metallurgy as a discipline in its own right.

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SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology

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John Augustus Voelcker, as the son of Dr John Christopher Voelcker, grew up in an atmosphere of scientific agriculture and would have had contact with the leading agriculturists of the day. He was educated at University College School and then University College, London, where he obtained both a BA and a BSc Following in his father's footsteps, he studied for his PhD at Giessen University in Germany. At college he enjoyed athletics, an interest he was to pursue for the rest of his life. He decided to take up agricultural chemistry and was to succeed to all the public offices once held by his father, from whom he also took over the directorship of Woburn Farm. The experimental farm had been started in 1876 and was used to study the residual effects of chemicals in the soil. The results of these studies were used as the basis for compensation awards to tenant farmers giving up their farms. Voelcker broadened the range of studies to include trace elements in the soil, but by 1921 the Royal Agricultural Society of England had decided to give up the farm. This was a blow to Voelcker and occurred just before experiments elsewhere highlighted the importance of these elements to healthy plant growth. He continued the research at his own expense until the Rothampsted Experimental Station took over the farm in 1926. Aside from his achievements in Britain, Voelcker undertook a study tour of India in 1890, the report on which led to the appointment of an Agricultural Chemist, and the establishment of a scientific service for the Indian subcontinent.

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c black licence [lisɑ̃s]

   a. ( = diplôme) degree

• licence ès lettres Arts degree

• licence ès sciences Science degree

• faire une licence d'anglais to do a degree in English → DIPLÔMES

   b. ( = autorisation) licence (Brit), license (US) ; (Sport) membership card

• licence globale (Internet) blanket licence (for content downloaded or streamed over the internet)

   c. ( = liberté) licence poétique poetic licence

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+1! Dans le sens de diplôme, licence ne se traduit pas par licence.

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After the « DEUG », French university students undertake a third year of study to complete their licence. This is roughly equivalent to a bachelor's degree in Britain.

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1) Université (bachelor's) degree

2) Commerce, Droit licence [BrE]

3) Sport

4) ( liberté) licence [BrE]

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1) (= permis) licence Grande-Bretagne license USA

2) (= diplôme) degree, bachelor's degree

3) (poétique) licence Grande-Bretagne license USA

4) (= débauche) licentiousness

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licence nf

1 Univ (bachelor's) degree; licence en droit law degree; licence de or ès lettres arts degree, liberal arts degree US, BA; licence de chimie chemistry degree, BSc GB ou BS US in chemistry; préparer une licence d'anglais to do a degree in English; être en licence d'anglais to be in the final year of an English degree;

2 Comm, Jur licence^GB; licence de fabrication/de vente manufacturing/distribution licence^GB; licence d'importation/d'exportation import/export licence^GB; licence de débit de boissons licence for the sale of alcoholic drinks GB, liquor license US; fabriquer qch sous licence japonaise to make sth under licence^GB from a Japanese manufacturer; produit sous licence licensed product;

3 Sport membership card (of a national sports association); avoir sa licence de tennis to be a member of the national tennis federation;

4 ( liberté) licence^GB; licence orthographique licence^GB with regard to spelling; licence poétique poetic licence^GB; avoir toute licence de faire to have a free hand to do;

5 †( libertinage) licentiousness.

ⓘ Licence A university degree awarded after a year's study following the DEUG or DEUST.

[lisɑ̃s] nom féminin

1. (littéraire) [liberté excessive] licence

[débauche] licentiousness

2. UNIVERSITÉ (bachelor's) degree

3. DROIT licence

4. SPORT membership card (allowing entry into official competitions)

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sous licence locution adjectivale

licensed

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sous licence locution adverbiale

In French universities, students obtain the licence one year after the DEUG. It is the first year of the Deuxième cycle of university studies. During the subsequent year students prepare the maîtrise.

SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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At the beginning of the eighteenth century, silk weaving was one of the most prosperous trades in Britain, but it depended upon raw silk worked up on hand twisting or throwing machines. In 1702 Thomas Cotchett set up a mill for twisting silk by water-power at the northern end of an island in the river Derwent at Derby; this would probably have been to produce organzine, the hard twisted thread used for the warp when weaving silk fabrics. Such mills had been established in Italy beginning with the earliest in Bologna in 1272, but it would appear that Cotchett used Dutch silk-throwing machinery that was driven by a water wheel that was 13½ ft (4.1 m) in diameter and built by the local engineer, George Sorocold. The enterprise soon failed, but it was quickly revived and extended by Thomas and John Lombe with machinery based on that being used successfully in Italy.

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SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy

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The son of a Congregationalist minister, Hall was educated at Oberlin College. There he was instructed in chemistry by Professor F.F.Jewett, a former student of the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler, who encouraged Hall to believe that there was a need for a cheap process for the manufacture of aluminium. After graduating in 1885, Hall set to work in his private laboratory exploring the method of fused salt electrolysis. On Wednesday 10 February 1886 he found that alumina dissolved in fused cryolite "like sugar in water", and that the bath so produced was a good conductor of electricity. He contained the solution in a pure graphite crucible which also acted as an efficient cathode, and by 16 February 1886 had produced the first globules of metallic aluminium. With two backers, Hall was able to complete his experiments and establish a small pilot plant in Boston, but they withdrew after the US Patent Examiners reported that Hall's invention had been anticipated by a French patent, filed by Paul Toussaint Héroult in April 1886. Although Hall had not filed until July 1886, he was permitted to testify that his invention had been completed by 16 February 1886 and on 2 April 1889 he was granted a seventeen-year monopoly in the United States. Hall now had the support of Captain A.E. Hunt of the Pittsburgh Testing Institute who provided the capital for establishing the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which by 1889 was selling aluminium at $1 per pound compared to the $15 for sodium-reduced aluminium. Further capital was provided by the banker Andrew Mellon (1855–1937). Hall then turned his attention to Britain and began negotiations with Johnson Matthey, who provided land on a site at Patricroft near Manchester. Here the Aluminium Syndicate, owned by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, began to produce aluminium in July 1890. By this time the validity of Hall's patent was being strongly contested by Héroult and also by the Cowles brothers, who attempted to operate the Hall process in the United States. Hall successfully sued them for infringement, and was confirmed in his patent rights by the celebrated ruling in 1893 of William Howard Taft, subsequently President of the USA. In 1895 Hall's company changed its name to the Pittsburgh Aluminium Company and moved to Niagara Falls, where cheap electrical power was available. In 1903 a legal compromise ended the litigation between the Hall and Héroult organizations. The American rights in the invention were awarded to Hall, and the European to Héroult. The Pittsburgh Aluminium Company became the Aluminium Company of America on 1 January 1907. On his death he left his estate, worth about $45 million, for the advancement of education.

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SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy

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His family emigrated to Australia when he was 5 years old. He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, and attended Queen's College, University of Melbourne, graduating in physics and engineering in 1897. As an 1851 Exhibitioner he then spent three years at St John's College, Cambridge, under Sir Alfred Ewing, where he studied the microstructure of deformed metal crystals and abandoned his original intention of becoming a civil engineer. Rosenhain was the first to observe the slip-bands in metal crystals, and in the Bakerian Lecture delivered jointly by Ewing and Rosenhain to the Royal Society in 1899 it was shown that metals deformed plastically by a mechanism involving shear slip along individual crystal planes. From this conception modern ideas on the plasticity and recrystallization of metals rapidly developed. On leaving Cambridge, Rosenhain joined the Birmingham firm of Chance Brothers, where he worked for six years on optical glass and lighthouse-lens systems. A book, Glass Manufacture, written in 1908, derives from this period, during which he continued his metallurgical researches in the evenings in his home laboratory and published several papers on his work.

In 1906 Rosenhain was appointed Head of the Metallurgical Department of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and in 1908 he became the first Superintendent of the new Department of Metallurgy and Metallurgical Chemistry. Many of the techniques he introduced at Teddington were described in his Introduction to Physical Metallurgy, published in 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War, Rosenhain was asked to undertake work in his department on the manufacture of optical glass. This soon made it possible to manufacture optical glass of high quality on an industrial scale in Britain. Much valuable work on refractory materials stemmed from this venture. Rosenhain's early years at the NPL were, however, inseparably linked with his work on light alloys, which between 1912 and the end of the war involved virtually all of the metallurgical staff of the laboratory. The most important end product was the well-known "Y" Alloy (4% copper, 2% nickel and 1.5% magnesium) extensively used for the pistons and cylinder heads of aircraft engines. It was the prototype of the RR series of alloys jointly developed by Rolls Royce and High Duty Alloys. An improved zinc-based die-casting alloy devised by Rosenhain was also used during the war on a large scale for the production of shell fuses.

After the First World War, much attention was devoted to beryllium, which because of its strength, lightness, and stiffness would, it was hoped, become the airframe material of the future. It remained, however, too brittle for practical use. Other investigations dealt with impurities in copper, gases in aluminium alloys, dental alloys, and the constitution of alloys. During this period, Rosenhain's laboratory became internationally known as a centre of excellence for the determination of accurate equilibrium diagrams.

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1) Спорт: Bank One Ballpark, Body Opponent Bag

2) Военный термин: Blueprint of the Battlefield, Bombs Over Baghdad, Bureau of the Budget

3) Шутливое выражение: Balling On A Budget, Bony Old Bag

4) Биржевой термин: Bratislava Options Exchange

5) Грубое выражение: Battery Operated Boy, Bend over, Baby, Bitches On Bikes

6) Телекоммуникации: Breakout Box

7) Сокращение: barge on board, bobbin, Bank One Ballpark ( Arizona Diamondbacks), Bank of Baroda, Bank of Beirut, Bank of Bermuda, Bank of Butterfield (Bermuda), Basketball Owl Band (Rice University), Battle of Britain (air battle between Allied and Axis powers over the English Channel in WWII), Battle of the Bands (Community Music Competitions), Bay of Biscay, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Bellaire Office Building, Berner Oberland Bahn (Swiss railway company), Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder (Dutch: Conscious Non-Drunk Driver), Bharat Overseas Bank, Big O' Blaster (gaming), Big Old Building (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan album), Bolivian Boliviano (ISO currency code), Bombs Over Baghdad (band), Bora Bora (Airport Code), Brand Oak Bitter (UK beer), Brotherhood of Britannia (gaming), Bunch of Believers (Christian band), Robert, babe on back (of motorcycle), babe on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), baby on board, baby on breast, back of book (answers in textbook exercises), bail out bottle (emergency air supply), band of brothers, battery operated boyfriend, battery operated buddy, beast of burden, beatniks on bongos, beginning of business, bend over backwards, bend over buddy, best of breed (computer industry, also dog & cat shows), best of business, best of the best, best on best, best on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), best orthogonal basis, best overall boat, big orange ball (slang for the sun), binary-tree on binary-tree, blitter object, body opponent bag (boxing training), bomb on-board, book of business, born on board, born-oppenheimer breakdown (quantum chemistry), bottom of the barrel, bottom of the basket, bottom-of-basket, boxes of books, boy on bike, brains on board (robot), brains over brawns, branch office box, break-out box, breakfast on a bun, bring on bottle, bring own booze, bug out bag, bunch of bullstuff (polite form), bureau of budget, business object board, business object broker, buy on board (cruise ship business)

8) Университет: Back Of The Book

9) СМИ: Boy On Boy

10) Деловая лексика: Building Opportunities Bonus, Beginning Of Business (day), на начало рабочего дня

11) Расширение файла: Bitmap graphics (BOB Image file)

12) Собаководство: ЛПП, Best of Breed (male or female), (Best of Breed) Лучший представитель породы, ЛПП, Лучший представитель породы

13) Чат: Best Online Buddy, Brains On Board

14) Аэропорты: Bora Bora, Society Islands

1) Спорт: Bank One Ballpark, Body Opponent Bag

2) Военный термин: Blueprint of the Battlefield, Bombs Over Baghdad, Bureau of the Budget

3) Шутливое выражение: Balling On A Budget, Bony Old Bag

4) Биржевой термин: Bratislava Options Exchange

5) Грубое выражение: Battery Operated Boy, Bend over, Baby, Bitches On Bikes

6) Телекоммуникации: Breakout Box

7) Сокращение: barge on board, bobbin, Bank One Ballpark ( Arizona Diamondbacks), Bank of Baroda, Bank of Beirut, Bank of Bermuda, Bank of Butterfield (Bermuda), Basketball Owl Band (Rice University), Battle of Britain (air battle between Allied and Axis powers over the English Channel in WWII), Battle of the Bands (Community Music Competitions), Bay of Biscay, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Bellaire Office Building, Berner Oberland Bahn (Swiss railway company), Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder (Dutch: Conscious Non-Drunk Driver), Bharat Overseas Bank, Big O' Blaster (gaming), Big Old Building (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan album), Bolivian Boliviano (ISO currency code), Bombs Over Baghdad (band), Bora Bora (Airport Code), Brand Oak Bitter (UK beer), Brotherhood of Britannia (gaming), Bunch of Believers (Christian band), Robert, babe on back (of motorcycle), babe on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), baby on board, baby on breast, back of book (answers in textbook exercises), bail out bottle (emergency air supply), band of brothers, battery operated boyfriend, battery operated buddy, beast of burden, beatniks on bongos, beginning of business, bend over backwards, bend over buddy, best of breed (computer industry, also dog & cat shows), best of business, best of the best, best on best, best on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), best orthogonal basis, best overall boat, big orange ball (slang for the sun), binary-tree on binary-tree, blitter object, body opponent bag (boxing training), bomb on-board, book of business, born on board, born-oppenheimer breakdown (quantum chemistry), bottom of the barrel, bottom of the basket, bottom-of-basket, boxes of books, boy on bike, brains on board (robot), brains over brawns, branch office box, break-out box, breakfast on a bun, bring on bottle, bring own booze, bug out bag, bunch of bullstuff (polite form), bureau of budget, business object board, business object broker, buy on board (cruise ship business)

8) Университет: Back Of The Book

9) СМИ: Boy On Boy

10) Деловая лексика: Building Opportunities Bonus, Beginning Of Business (day), на начало рабочего дня

11) Расширение файла: Bitmap graphics (BOB Image file)

12) Собаководство: ЛПП, Best of Breed (male or female), (Best of Breed) Лучший представитель породы, ЛПП, Лучший представитель породы

13) Чат: Best Online Buddy, Brains On Board

14) Аэропорты: Bora Bora, Society Islands

1) Спорт: Bank One Ballpark, Body Opponent Bag

2) Военный термин: Blueprint of the Battlefield, Bombs Over Baghdad, Bureau of the Budget

3) Шутливое выражение: Balling On A Budget, Bony Old Bag

4) Биржевой термин: Bratislava Options Exchange

5) Грубое выражение: Battery Operated Boy, Bend over, Baby, Bitches On Bikes

6) Телекоммуникации: Breakout Box

7) Сокращение: barge on board, bobbin, Bank One Ballpark ( Arizona Diamondbacks), Bank of Baroda, Bank of Beirut, Bank of Bermuda, Bank of Butterfield (Bermuda), Basketball Owl Band (Rice University), Battle of Britain (air battle between Allied and Axis powers over the English Channel in WWII), Battle of the Bands (Community Music Competitions), Bay of Biscay, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Bellaire Office Building, Berner Oberland Bahn (Swiss railway company), Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder (Dutch: Conscious Non-Drunk Driver), Bharat Overseas Bank, Big O' Blaster (gaming), Big Old Building (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan album), Bolivian Boliviano (ISO currency code), Bombs Over Baghdad (band), Bora Bora (Airport Code), Brand Oak Bitter (UK beer), Brotherhood of Britannia (gaming), Bunch of Believers (Christian band), Robert, babe on back (of motorcycle), babe on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), baby on board, baby on breast, back of book (answers in textbook exercises), bail out bottle (emergency air supply), band of brothers, battery operated boyfriend, battery operated buddy, beast of burden, beatniks on bongos, beginning of business, bend over backwards, bend over buddy, best of breed (computer industry, also dog & cat shows), best of business, best of the best, best on best, best on-board (flight attendant code for good looking passengers), best orthogonal basis, best overall boat, big orange ball (slang for the sun), binary-tree on binary-tree, blitter object, body opponent bag (boxing training), bomb on-board, book of business, born on board, born-oppenheimer breakdown (quantum chemistry), bottom of the barrel, bottom of the basket, bottom-of-basket, boxes of books, boy on bike, brains on board (robot), brains over brawns, branch office box, break-out box, breakfast on a bun, bring on bottle, bring own booze, bug out bag, bunch of bullstuff (polite form), bureau of budget, business object board, business object broker, buy on board (cruise ship business)

8) Университет: Back Of The Book

9) СМИ: Boy On Boy

10) Деловая лексика: Building Opportunities Bonus, Beginning Of Business (day), на начало рабочего дня

11) Расширение файла: Bitmap graphics (BOB Image file)

12) Собаководство: ЛПП, Best of Breed (male or female), (Best of Breed) Лучший представитель породы, ЛПП, Лучший представитель породы

13) Чат: Best Online Buddy, Brains On Board

14) Аэропорты: Bora Bora, Society Islands

(Brit. Sch.) ≈ Abitur, das; Abschluss der Sekundarstufe II

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n BRIT

▪ [the/one's] \A levels pl ≈ das Abitur kein pl, ≈ die Matur[a] SCHWEIZ, ≈ die Matura ÖSTERR

to take one's \A levels das Abitur [o SCHWEIZ die Matur] [o ÖSTERR die Matura] machen

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n (Brit)

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A level [eı] s SCHULE Br (etwa) Abitur n:

he has three A levels er hat das Abitur in drei Fächern gemacht;

she took A levels in English, French and German sie hat das Abitur in Englisch, Französisch und Deutsch gemacht

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(Brit. Sch.) ≈ Abitur, das; Abschluss der Sekundarstufe II

\/ˈeɪˌlevl\/

se ➢ advanced level

noun ( in UK) estudios de una asignatura a nivel de bachillerato superior

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noun ( in UK) estudios de una asignatura a nivel de bachillerato superior

n. lise bitirme sınavı [brit.]

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